Practice Areas

Outdoor Advertising and Billboards

Rock Fusco & Connelly, LLC have significant experience handling legal and regulatory issues involved in the outdoor advertising and billboard industry. Rock Fusco & Connelly, LLC has advised clients on a number of different issues including the right to compensation despite the existence of an amortization ordinance, excessive fees imposed by municipalities, first amendment issues, drafting protective legislation, and zoning.

Rock Fusco & Connelly, LLC experience in the outdoor advertising and billboard arena includes representation in the following cases:

The representation of a coalition of billboard companies affected by the City of Chicago lease transaction tax. The litigation brought by Rock Fusco & Connelly, LLC came from the City of Chicago’s attempt to enforce a 6% lease transaction tax against billboard companies. The litigation successfully stopped the City of Chicago from collecting six percent (6%) of the gross revenue for each lease of any billboard located within the City of Chicago.

In the recent case of Clear Channel vs. West Chicago, Rock Fusco & Connelly, LLC helped convince the Appellate Court of Illinois that billboard owners in West Chicago are entitled to just compensation despite the existence of the municipality’s amortization ordinance.

Rock Fusco & Connelly, LLC was instrumental in saving ten premium billboard locations on the Chicago Transit Authority elevated structures in the Chicago Loop from destruction. After the billboards had been erected and were operational, the City of Chicago attempted to revoke the signs’ permits. By way of a summary judgment action, Rock Fusco & Connelly, LLC was able to persuade both the trial and appellate courts that the signs should stay in place due to the fact that the City’s attempted revocation was based upon inapplicable and invalid ordinances. The signs have remained in place pending negotiation with the Chicago Transit Authority.

Rock Fusco & Connelly, LLC has also helped save a roof sign which overlooked the right field wall of Wrigley Field. When the Chicago Tribune Co. bought the Chicago Cubs, the Tribune was able to convince the City of Chicago to revoke the signs permit of all signs that were visible from inside the ballpark. After extensive research of zooming codes and old photographs, Rock Fusco & Connelly, LLC was able to show the City of Chicago, Zoning Board of Appeals, that the sign overlooking right field was a legal non-conforming sign which had been in existence since before the opening day ceremonies of Wrigley Field in 1916, and before the existence of any sign code in the City of Chicago.